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A CENTURY OF WHITTLING – 1865 – 1965 a folk history by Donald K. Mertz – The WOOD BEE CARVER
Wood carving is perhaps one of the oldest forms of art that originated the first time a human shaped in a decorative manner a piece of wood with a sharp stone. Whittling developed when sharpened metal knives were used to carve a hand held piece of wood making Whittling one of the earliest forms of carving.
In the United States Whittling was most prevalent in the century between 1865 and 1965. The Civil War brought together men from different states and territories in a melting pot kind of gathering. Sitting around the campsite the soldiers would relax by talking, playing cards, writing letters and some would be whittling. The folding jack knife was common among the soldiers who, if one had a knife one was prone to whittle. Some soldiers who were more proficient at whittling would teach others to whittle walking sticks or canes, animals, human figures, spoons, smoking pipes and whimsies like wooden chains, ball in a cage, fans and puzzles. A soldier from Maine would teach a soldier from Ohio how to whittle a particular object. A soldier from Georgia would show a soldier from Tennessee how to whittle. This was repeated over and over in the melting pot of the casual school of whittling.
